Life is full of specialists, people who spend their careers studying one subject. I agree with Heinlein; specialization is for insects.
This blog will span a variety of subjects, as the mood fits. Expect posts on political, cultural, and technical aspects of modern and historical life. Enjoy!

Saturday, November 01, 2008

So, there I was, taking Exit 104 off of I-95N in south Florida, on my way to the Martin County GOP headquarters to help get out the vote for the presidential election, when a sudden flicker of dark blue on the other side of the boulevard catches my eye. I look over to the other side of the road. There's a male cyclist, . dismounted, leaning over by a series of political signs. He didn't just pull out a McCain/Palin sign, did he?

On a whim, I pull a u-turn at the next break in the median and head back. The cyclist has ridden off before I get there, but I pull over anyway and walk over to the signs. Everyone but McCain/Palin... so I walk over into the weeds and there it is. I put the sign back up and then headed down the road after the cyclist. As I'm approaching him, he stops at another McCain/Palin sign and starts to tug on it. I blow my horn and he turns around, seeing me. I shake my head firmly, pointing to him to stop, but he pulls the sign out and tosses it. I hop out of my car as he rides away on the sidewalk, and put the sign back up, and then follow him again, my camera at the ready. I pull up beside him and take a couple of photos. He acts as if he doesn't see me at first, and then yells "Leave me alone!" After my second photo, he pulls over and stops... and so do I.

ME: Hey, what are you doing??!! You can't be damaging campaign signs!IDIOT: Uh... a police car saw me and didn't do anything.ME: That doesn't make it right! What is wrong with you? Don't you understand how unAmerican it is to interfere with a campaign? Don't you respect freedom of speech?IDIOT: I'm really angry, man. You don't understand!ME: Your anger doesn't make it right!IDIOT: You don't understand!ME: I understand that if someone who hasn't made up their mind sees you damaging McCain signs, that's likely to make them angry enough to vote for McCain. Is that what you want?IDIOT: No, I don't want that. But I have to stop McCain. I hate him!ME: What has John McCain ever done to you?IDIOT: I need to get my wisdom teeth out and if Obama loses I can't afford it. I'm gonna die on the streets if McCain wins!

Now, this guy is riding on a new bike that is in excellent shape. His clothes are clean and fairly new, and he's listening to an iPod. He looks to be a teenager, so am I supposed to believe his parents can't afford $300 a tooth to get his wisdom teeth pulled? Give me a freakin' break! I'm even more convinced that this drama queen is just another immature asshole. So, I have two choices: be an asshole right back or try to get him to admit that what he was doing is wrong in the hope of changing his behavior.

ME: What does that have to do with freedom of speech? Do you think Obama would condone pulling signs out?IDIOT: Well...ME: How about Martin Luther King? Do you know why he was beaten and finally killed? Because people didn't like what he was saying and wanted to shut him up. Isn't that what you're doing?IDIOT: (Crestfallen) I see what you're saying.

With that I let him go. He rode into a neighborhood and I rode on into Stuart. Turns out that the GOP office is constantly having McCain/Palin signs vandalized or stolen, and this costs a lot of money and time. They were interested in the pictures.

Do I think I made a difference? Probably not... but what are you going to do?